Death and Life
by NuStrike
Summary: Kensuke finds a large robot in the forest, Tokyo 3 will never be the same again. Crossover with Mobile Suit Gundam.
1. Prologue

Wish for Death, Hope for Life

***

A Neon Genesis Evangelion and Mobile Suit Gundam story

***

Disclaimer:  Who here thinks that I own any of this?  silence  Thought so.

Please note that there will be a lengthy author's note at the end of this chapter.  On with the story.

Prologue:  Controlling Time

Shinji sat on a bench at the entrance to the Geofront, listening to his SDAT.  He had finished his synch tests for the day but had no desire to go back to his apartment.  Misato would probably be off somewhere, not that he wanted to see her.  Shinji didn't know what to think anymore; it was like his entire world was falling apart.  He didn't know what to think of Rei anymore, and Asuka had run away.  Of course there was that new pilot, Kaworu.  He seemed nice, if a little different.  The guy had just got onto a sinking ship though.

'I'm so sick of this; I just wish that it would all end.  Every time that I get into that damn thing, I end up hurting someone that I care about.  I almost killed Touji and Kensuke when I fell on that mountain.  Then there's what I did to Touji's sister, and…and then there's the thirteenth angel.  I…I crushed his plug, and crippled him for life.  Some best friend I am.  I couldn't even help Asuka or Rei when they needed me.  I could only sit there and watch as Asuka got ripped apart by that damn angel.  I should have done something!  It's all my fault, I could have stopped that thing from hurting her.  And Rei…why did she have to do that!  If I was only a little faster, I could have saved her and she wouldn't be that…that thing.  Rei is dead, and it's all my fault.'

Shinji's thoughts were interrupted just then when he heard the gate in front of him open.  He looked up to see Kaworu standing there looking at him.

"Hello, you weren't waiting here for me, were you?"

Shinji nervously pulled out his ear buds and stammered a response, "No, not…not really waiting anyway."

Kaworu walked forward and asked, "So what are you doing for the rest of the day?"

"Well, usually when tests are over, I'll take a shower and go home.  But I don't really want to go home these days."

"The fact that you have a place where you can return, home, will lead you to happiness.  That is a good fact."

"You think so?"

"I want to talk to you some more.  May I come with you?"

***

Shinji and Kaworu went to the showers and had a bit of a discussion while they sat there.  Kaworu saw what some of Shinji's problems were and tried to give him some advice about dealing with people, saying that "all men are fundamentally alone."

"It…it's time."

"Time to go?"

"Yeah, I have to go to bed."

"With me?"

Shinji quickly got flustered and stammered out a nervous reply.  "Uh, No!  I…I think you have your own room!

As Kaworu stood up he casually said, "Okay.  You know, pain is something that man must endure in his heart."

Shinji blushed.

"And since pain fills the heart so easily, some believe life is pain.  You are delicate like glass, that is your heart is."

"It is?"

"Yes, this is worth earning my empathy.  I'm saying I love you."

***

The next day, Kaworu stood at the access bridge to Unit 02.  As much as it pained him, he could resist the call no further.  He would miss his life as a human; all of the experiences that come with it.

"It is time, let us go Adam's dark shadow, servant of the Lilin."

With that, Kaworu tapped into his power and was no more.  Tabris, the final messenger, had arrived.

***

"NO!  NO!  NO!  It's not possible!  I won't believe that Kaworu's an angel, it's a lie!"

Misato's voice crackled over the speaker in Unit 01's entry plug, "It's a fact Shinji, you must accept it.  Prepare for combat, do you understand?"

***

As Tabris floated down the access tunnel with Unit 02 at his side, he saw Unit 01 approaching from above.  "Shinji, you are late."

Shinji was enraged.  "You betrayed me!  You betrayed the trust I placed in you!  You betrayed me just like my father did!"

***

While Tabris floated in Terminal Dogma, looking at Lilith's body, he heard a loud crash behind him.  He saw Unit 02 thrown through the gate and Unit 01 lurch in through the opening.  Its right hand shot forward and grasped him in a tight grip.

"I thank you, Shinji.  I wanted you to take Unit 02 from me.  Otherwise, with her, I might have survived much longer."

"Kaworu, but why?"

"It is my destiny to live forever, though my survival will bring final destruction to the human race.  However, it is possible for me to be killed and whether I live or die makes no great difference.  In truth, death may be the only absolute freedom there is."

"What are you Kaworu?  I don't understand what you are talking about Kaworu."

"This is my wish.  Please destroy me.  Otherwise, you will be destroyed.  Only one life form can be chosen to avoid the destruction and seize the future.  And you are not the existence which should die.  You need the future; it is what you live for.  Thank you Shinji, my life was meaningful, because of you."

To say Shinji was torn would be a great understatement.  On the one side was his duty as an Eva pilot, to kill the angels and prevent Third Impact.  They had destroyed both Asuka and Rei, and he could never forgive them.  But there was one thing that tore at him.  Kaworu was his friend, and the one person to ever tell him that he was loved.  He couldn't bear to hurt another friend, not to mention the one person to truly care for him in almost his entire life.

Agonizing over his choices, Shinji reluctantly made his decision.  The splash that Kaworu's severed head made as it fell into the lake of LCL signified what Shinji had decided.

***

Shinji sat at the edge of the lake, deep in thought.  His sense of guilt was overwhelming and he felt a great deal of regret for his killing Kaworu and still being alive.

"Kaworu should have survived.  He was much better that I am.  Kaworu should have survived, not me!  He deserved to live."

"No, the one who deserves to live is the one who has the will to make it happen.  He wished for death.  He ignored his will to survive and chose to die for a false hope.  Your survival is not a mistake Shinji."

"Misato, how can you be so cruel?"

***

***

In another plane of existence, a silver haired youth awoke.  Upon opening his eyes, Kaowru looked up to see a clear night sky with a view of the stars.

"Not exactly what I had expected, but it is quite nice."

Getting up, he looked around and realized something important.  First was that he was standing in what appeared to be a large grassy field with mountains in the distance.  There was a small lake nearby and some trees off to the side.  However, the one thing that really got his attention was the fact that the entire piece of land seemed to be floating in space.  Space just seemed to fade into this field; there was nothing supporting it.

"Definitely not what I was expecting to see.  Where am I?"

Suddenly, Kaworu heard a sound behind him.  It was like…laughing?  He turned around to see two human shaped forms running along the field as if they were playing.  The forms had no distinguishing features, just red and yellow shapes of people.  One of the shapes, the one in back, started to fade away for some reason.  He stared in amazement as it disappeared.  He was then shocked to see that the other had taken a more distinct form.  What was once a red shape was now a young woman.  She was wearing a large flowing tan gown that flowed in the breeze.  Her long dark hair was done into two buns that fell across her back and her large green eyes shined brightly even from in the distance.  She seemed to be of Indian descent, but he couldn't be sure.

Kaworu felt a great power coming from her, something not of Adam or Lilith, but still immensely strong.  She most likely had great abilities, and might be an interesting person to meet.

He walked over to greet her.

***

Universal Century 0079, December 29

***

"Here it comes!" Amuro shouted as he flew around a battle between Zeon Rick Doms and Federation GMs.  He had felt something important would show up from this direction and wanted to check it out.

Suddenly, a swarm of Bit attack drones appeared from ahead and surrounded Gundam.  Amuro managed to dodge the beam shots from each of them as they maneuvered in a random pattern around him.  One shot got through, but he managed to use his shield to block it.  He started to try to shoot them down then and managed to get a few.

"I can feel the way they're controlled," he muttered as he began to concentrate.  He saw the control signal in his mind and began his attack.  "I can sense it!"  Amuro miraculously saw where each of the bits would be and managed to shoot down many of them.  He then saw the control Mobile Armor approaching.

"L…Lalah!"

The Gundam and Elmeth then began a dance of sorts, the Gundam firing its beam rifle and the Elmeth firing its beam cannons; both missing the target.

Lalah realized who she was fighting after sensing Amuro. "Amuro?" she questioned herself.

She was able to shoot the Gundam's beam rifle, destroying it.  Amuro had to maneuver his shield around to avoid the blast.

"Why are you out here fighting Lalah?"

"To prevent you from hurting Char."

"What?!"

"You're so cruel, trying to harm him."

"That's crazy, no way!"

Lalah then commanded the bits to attack again.  They surrounded Amuro at a close distance so that he was able to use his beam saber to destroy them.  He managed to slice apart any bit that got within range.  He then saw the Elmeth rise from below.

"Your strength has confirmed my fears, I must shoot you down or Char will be killed."

"Char! So that's why."

"I'm afraid you came too late."

"I came too late?"

They continued their fight.  Lalah used her bits and cannons while Amuro dodged her shots and used his saber to destroy the bits.

"Oh, Amuro, why did you wait so long to appear in my life?  Why now? Why this?  How can you keep fighting with such conviction?  You have great strength but you have no one to defend and nothing to fight for."

"I have nothing to fight for?"

"I can sense that, there's no family in your heart and no homeland either."

"Wh…What difference does that make?  Well, is it wrong to fight if I have nothing to defend?"

"It just isn't natural."

"Then who are you defending?"

"You may not completely understand, but I'm fighting for the one person who saved my life."

"That's it, that's your reason?"

"Yes, it's a truth that one lives for."

"Then does it mean nothing that we've met each other?"

Lalah gasped, "Amuro do you think we were destined to meet each other?"

"Yes, I believe we were, I believe this was destined to happen."

"But why?  If this is fate, then life is just too cruel."

"We have no choice but to accept it.  Lalah, open your eyes."

"Is it really true, are you certain about this?  Is this destiny as you say?"

***

At that moment, in separate locations, both Char and Sayla had Newtype reactions as they realized what was happening.  They both started to move in toward the battle between Amuro and Lalah.  Char was the first to arrive.  His red Gelgoog stood out in the darkness of space as it rocketed towards them.

***

"Lalah, stop playing around with him."

Having seen his rival, Amuro quickly reacted.  He moved away from the Elmeth and towards Char.

The beginning of their battle could be seen from a distance.  That made it easy for Sayla to find them.  She pushed the G-Fighter's engines to full throttle get there to help Amuro and stop her brother.

"There they are!"

She watched as Amuro sliced Char's beam rifle apart with his saber.  Char activated his twin beam sword and the two began fighting again.

"Come on!  Pull back Casvel!"

Amuro saw her and warned her, "It's too dangerous.  Stay back Sayla!"

After bouncing off the Gundam, Char attacked the G-Fighter, damaging its underbelly.

Sayla tried to reach her brother so that he would notice her, "Casvel, I'm right here!  Don't you see me!"

Char regrouped in front of the Elmeth to prepare for his final attack.

"It's time for me to crush that gundam, guide me in my task Lalah," he ordered.

That surprised her but she managed to respond.

"I'll be there for you, I'll guide you on your way Captain."

"Thank you, Lalah."

Char and Amuro approached each other and began their fight again.  Char sliced off part of Amuro's shield, distracting him.  At that time, Sayla began her attack.  She targeted the Elmeth and fired her beam cannons.  Lalah dodged and returned fire.  Char moved in to defend the Elmeth and get rid of the fighter.  He moved to destroy the cockpit with his saber.  Luckily, Amuro was able to block the blow and Sayla flew off. 

Lalah used her cannons to blow off what was left of Amuro's shield and Char moved in to finish him off.  However, Sayla stopped him by firing her cannons between them.  Char then tried to kill her again.  Just as he was about to hit the cockpit, Lalah stopped him.

"Captain, don't do it!"

Just as he hit the canopy, Char saw that it was his sister piloting it.

"No!  It's Artesia."

He turned around to deal with the gundam and was greeted by Amuro slicing off his right arm with his saber.  Now without weapons, Char was helpless and Amuro knew it.  He moved in for the killing blow.

"Char, this is it!"

"Captain!"

Just as Amuro was going to stab the Gelgoog in the cockpit, it was shoved out of the way by the Elmeth.  Amuro couldn't stop in time and destroyed the Elmeth's cockpit.

"Lalah!"

***

In the moment of her death, Lalah and Amuro were able to share some last words.

"People are changing, they're becoming like us."

"Yeah, I suppose so, you're right about that Lalah."

"Oh, Amuro do you honestly believe that?"

"Yes, of course.  You and I were able to understand each other.  I suppose one day, people will even be able to control time."

"Oh Amuro, I can see time itself."

***

Lalah saw herself in a large grassy field at the foot of some mountains.  Amuro was by her side as they ran through the field playing.  She could see a star field all around the area that looked beautiful to her.  She looked back to see Amuro, but he was gone.  She looked around in the hope that he was still there.  Instead she saw a somewhat strange sight.  A boy in black pants and a white dress shirt was walking towards her.  It wasn't that that made him noticeable to her; it was his gray hair and blood red eyes.  She also felt that he had some kind of hidden strength.  She began to walk towards him to find out what was going on.

***

Back in the battle, it seemed as if everything had stopped when Amuro killed Lalah.  He could only float backwards in shock and Char was too grief-stricken to care about fighting anymore.

As the Elmeth exploded in a great ball of light, Amuro could only cry.  Char voiced his grief by slamming his fist into his control panel and screaming "NOO!!"

Amuro finally found his voice and gasped, "Lalah, Lalah!  I've done a terrible thing!  I've done something I can never take back!

***

In the mountain field

***

Kaworu and Lalah came face to face, both with questioning looks on their faces.  Kaworu was the first to break the silence.

"Hello there, I don't suppose you know where we are, do you?"

"No, I'm afraid that I don't.  You see, I think that I just died a minute ago."

"What a coincidence; so did I.  My name is Kaworu, Kaworu Nagisa.  Could you please tell me what your name is?"

"Lalah Sune.  Wait, you're dead too?"

"Yes, a good friend of mine was forced to kill me."

Lalah looked down and said quietly, "Really, I guess you could say the same about me."

She looked Kaworu in the eyes and asked, "Tell me, I sense a great power in you.  Are you a Newtype?"

Kaworu blinked.  "A Newtype, what is that?"

"A person who has mental abilities that normal people don't have.  A psychic."

He frowned.  "No, I can say that I am something different.  I am an Angel."

"An Angel?  You mean a harp-playing, halo wearing Angel?"

Kaworu chuckled.  "Not quite."

Lalah folded her arms across her chest.  "Kaworu, you're going to have to tell me a little about yourself."

"Only if you tell me some about you."

***

Some time later, both of the dead teens were trying to grasp what they had learned about their newfound friend.

"So let me get this straight Kaworu.  You forced this Shinji, a person you had told you loved, to kill you in order to stop you from destroying the human race."

"Yes, it was the only way.  I know it pained him greatly, but there was no choice.  I had to die.  What about these people, Captain Char and Amuro?  Why did you do what you did?  You made your, what was it, soulmate kill you."

"I don't know.  I owe the Captain my life, but Amuro is just so kind.  I couldn't let them kill each other.  I…I just wish that I could help Amuro.  He has nothing to fight for, and he doesn't realize that there is more to life than that stupid war.  I fear that he and Char will fight over what happened until one or both of them are dead.  If I could only help them."

"That may be true…I feel almost the same way about Shinji.  He has almost no self-worth and feels abandoned.  The fact that a kind person like him was forced to kill a loved one is most likely destroying him inside."

"About that love Kaworu, what kind are you talking about?"

"I do not mean love in the sense that I wish to be one with him, but rather love between close friends or family members.  Why do you ask?"

Lalah jumped and stuttered out a response.  "I…I was just curious.  I wanted to understand your feelings about him."

"That is all right.  Besides, I feel that another has taken his heart.  What about Char or Amuro?"

"I don't know.  Char looks up to me, almost as if I were a parent or something.  I think that Amuro may be the same as Shinji, only he doesn't know it."

"Perhaps, who are we to tell?  However, there may be something that we can do to help our loved ones with their problems."

"What do you mean?"

"You said that you could see time, correct?  That people may be able to control it as well?  I believe that you can do so."

Lalah waved her arms in a disarming manner.  "Whoa Kaworu, I said that I could see it but there is no way that I have the power to even think of controlling it!  Besides, what could we do?  We come from two different universes!"

Kaowru paused for a moment then responded.  "Perhaps I should rephrase myself.  Lalah, you are right in that you are not strong enough to do this by yourself.  However, if we were to combine our abilities, we could accomplish something.  We could create a bridge between the universes and allow people to cross from one to another.  We could also manipulate time so that it is best set to get the results we desire."

Lalah looked him in the eyes.  "Are you sure we can do this?  I find it hard to believe that it's possible."

"It is indeed possible.  The only question is who shall we bring to which universe and when to place them in the timeline."

Lalah spoke up.  "Well, I think that I know which universe we should take people to.  Seeing as mine is in the middle of that war, it wouldn't do much good to bring anyone there.  Besides, I want Amuro to experience a peaceful situation instead of that war.  I think that we should send people to your universe."

"Yes, that does seem to be a good idea.  I think that Shinji wouldn't be well prepared for life in your universe.  It would most likely put him into shock and wouldn't do any good for us.  That question is answered, but who shall we bring over and when?  I know that you wish to send Amuro, but who else do you want to send?"

Lalah smiled.  "I have an idea about that and when to send some of them.  I want Amuro to get there first, so that he can get used to living there.  I also want him to be able to help Shinji in some way.  When do you think that we should place him?"

Kaowru closed his eyes in concentration for a moment and then smiled.  "I believe there is a way for him to be of great assistance to Shinji, and to all of humanity as well.  I also have a good idea on when he should arrive."

Lalah perked up at this.  "Great!  So when do we start?"

"Right now."

"Good.  Uh…this is going to sound kind of stupid, but how do we do this?"

Kaworu chuckled for a moment and smiled.  "Just concentrate on what you wish to send to my universe and think of a gateway that will allow it to happen.  I will join my power with yours to give you the strength and guide you to the appropriate time.  I will then try to place any other people where and when you want them.  Give me your hands."

"Why, what does that do?"

"It allows us to combine power.  Are you ready?" 

"Let's do it."

The two joined hands and closed their eyes.  A faint aura of green light surrounded them as they began to combine power.  As they focused on their objective the light glowed brighter.  It faded out and they broke contact.

Kaworu spoke up first.  "It is done.  It all went as we had hoped."

Lalah looked in his eyes and replied.  "Yes, I just hope that it works out all right."

"Don't worry, I have a feeling that it will.  Besides we can see how things are going any time we wish.  Although I have to wonder about your decision to send those people."

"Some of them may be important later on, besides they are somewhat of a family to Amuro.  As for the others, I didn't have a choice on the matter, they were too close to the one I wanted to bring."

"I see.  I just hope that they don't get into too much trouble.  They could be a bit of a problem."

"That's why I put them when I did.  I think that they will do something, but Amuro will stop them.  I just hope that he doesn't kill them.

"We shall see."

***

In the Universal Century

***

A faint green glow surrounded the White Base and started to grow brighter.  Just as it was blinding, it disappeared along with the warship.  Another glowing phenomenon surrounded the area around Char's mobile suit and he too disappeared.

***

Earth, 2015

***

The beginning of an invasion had started.  It wasn't the angels or anything of equal power.  It wasn't a hostile invasion yet, but it could end up that way.  There would be many invaders in the next several months, some good and some bad.  All that could be said is that it would change the course of history.  It all started with the wish of two dead people that their loved ones would have a better life.

In a grassy field some distance away from Tokyo 3, a large white machine appeared.  It looked as if it had fallen down from a short distance.  It held a rifle in its right arm and a large red shield in its left.  A young man with red hair was lying unconscious inside of the machine.  A short time later, another young man came upon this man-shaped machine and began to investigate.  It was the beginning of a new life for many people.  The question is, would it be a good life?

To be continued

***

Well, that's the first chapter.  Considering that this is my first attempt at fanfiction, I think that I did fairly well.  I admit that I think my characterization of both Kaworu and Lalah is a little weak at times and I hope to be able to fix that after I get a little experience.  I found it to be a little hard to write them at times, as I couldn't figure out what they would do in the situation.  You may notice that the early parts are pretty much taken from the episodes.  That was intentional so that I could set the stage.  I made a few changes here and there to get my point across.  I don't plan to do that too much in the future chapters, but it may happen now and then.

This is the third version of a Gundam and Eva crossover that I've had in mind for a while.  The first involved an ACC that was way too uber and would have been shot down in flames.  The second involved a much more toned down ACC, but I figured that it wouldn't be a good way to start my writing career.  I then realized something about both Eva and Mobile Suit Gundam that made a story involving them both an interesting idea to me.

Both are considered to be groundbreaking animes of their times.  They both changed the idea of giant robot anime.  MSG did something completely different during the era of the super robot anime series.  It wasn't a story of a giant super robot against giant monsters, but was the story of robots used as tools of war illustrating the horrors of war.  Eva took it one step further; the robots were used as tools to interest people in what is essentially a human drama.  Both also had revolutions in the main characters.  MSG had a reluctant hero who hated what he did even as he became the best at it.  Eva had the anti-hero; a person who didn't look at all like a hero, he doubted himself at almost every turn and ran from conflict.  They also had the main character kill someone that they considered a loved one.  MSG was the original groundbreaking mecha anime, and Eva is this generation's.  It just seemed to me that they should work well together.

I have been reading fanfiction for about the last year and have always wanted to try it out.  I happen to be a big fan of crossovers but know that they aren't well received at times.  That being said, I tried to find a similar theme in these two series.  As I was watching both of the episodes I wrote about I noticed something that connected them.  I used that to form this introduction.

I don't know how well this will be accepted but I hope for the best obviously.  I plan to do some unconventional things with this and hope that they won't get flamed too much.  I also don't know how often I can update, as my schedule is somewhat full for the next couple of months.  I think that I can get one out every month, maybe less.  I don't know about the length of chapters either, I guess that it depends on what I want to cover in each.

Well, that's it for this chapter, flame away.  Oh, could you try to throw in some constructive help too.  I might not be that good yet, but I want to improve.  Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope that you like it.  Oh, could you leave me you email address so that I can answer any questions or concerns that you may have.

Further thanks go to Turles and MVP=Gohan for getting me off my ass and starting to write.  If it wasn't for them, I don't think that I would have been motivated to do something.

Oh, if any of you are wondering what the hell that I'm talking about when I'm writing stuff from the Gundam side of things, I know a web site that can answer some of your questions.  Go to mahq.net and you can find information on the mobile suits and what happens in Mobile Suit Gundam.  It might be able to at least give you a clue on what I'm talking about.


	2. Arrival

Wish for Death, Hope for Life

***

A Neon Genesis Evangelion and Mobile Suit Gundam story

***

Disclaimer:  If I owned either of these series, would I be writing this?

_Italics_ signify speaking in a different language.

***

Chapter 1 – Arrival

***

Tokyo 3 Junior High School, Class 2A

***

The school day had finally ended.  It was also the last scheduled one for the week as the Angel that was in the bay was supposed to attack in a couple of days.  It was a time of nervous rejoicing for the students as they were happy to get out of class but were worried about the coming battle.  One Kensuke Aida didn't seem to be too worried about it though; he saw it as a chance to see something interesting.  He had planned to go on a camping trip to see things, from a safe distance anyway.  He had learned his lessons from the fourth's attack.

"So you're really planning on going through with this stupid idea of yours?"

"Come on Touji.  I've just gotta see this!  It'll be incredible!  Besides, it might make for some interesting movies that we could use later."

Touji slouched down in his seat.  "Jeeze, you really do have a one-track mind.  You woulda thought after the last time you had seen enough.  Although I do kinda like your idea of taping the battle.  Might be able to sell some copies of it or something."

Kensuke perked up at this.  "So does that mean you'll come with me then?  I would really appreciate it."

"No.  I don't want anything to do with those damn things.  Sorry Ken, but I've learned my lesson and I don't want to deal with any of that again."

"Ahh…it's all right.  I understand how you feel about it.  Besides, you never really liked camping anyway."

"Good, I'm glad you understand.  So when do you plan to leave?"

"I'm heading out just as soon as I get home, I've already packed everything.  This way I'll be able to avoid the security and make it look as if I'm evacuating for the weekend."

Touji sighed.  "Of course…you've planned it all out."

Kensuke grinned.  "Of course.  I'll call you Sunday night to tell you all about it."

"Cool.  Hey, do me a favor and don't do anything stupid out there, ok?"

"Yeah, sure.  I'll see you on Monday."

"Seeya."

***

Outside of Tokyo 3

***

Kensuke whistled as he picked up his pack and watched the bus drive away.  It had been so easy to get out of the city; everyone believed his story about evacuating.  He grabbed his map from an outside pocket of the pack and studied it.

'Let's see…about three kilometers across the hills, then another two through the fields, and finally a hike up the mountain.  Shouldn't take more than about three hours to get to the mountain, I guess that I can camp there for the night and finish the climb in the morning.  This spot's gonna be great, it's out of the way and has a great view of the entire area.  I know that I'll be able to see everything and not have to worry about large purple things falling on me.'

He shuddered for a moment.

"Not gonna happen."

He started his hike.

***

About an hour and a half later, Kensuke was almost out of the hills and feeling somewhat proud of himself.

'I can't believe how fast that went, I might be able to make it all the way before it gets dark!  Then again, I don't really want to climb when it's too close; I have the entire day tomorrow to get there.  Yeah, I better stop, I'm not gonna make any stupid mistakes about this.'

He came to the last hill before the grassy fields and made it to the top without too much difficulty.  Arriving there, he noticed something strange about half a kilometer away.  Off near the edge of the forest was a giant red piece of metal.  He couldn't really describe it other than the fact that the thing was reflecting sunlight his direction.  He also noticed that whatever it was, it was leaning against some even larger white and blue thing.  All thoughts of his plans quickly left his mind as he gazed at the object.

'What the hell is that!  Is it some sort of NERV weapon?  No, they wouldn't leave it just sitting out here in the open.  Well, whatever it is, I'm gonna find out.'

Kensuke quickly ran towards the strange thing, at the same time keeping a close eye on it just to be safe.

***

As Kensuke got closer to it he was able to discern its features some.  It was some sort of robot.  He couldn't tell its size too well but could definitely see that it was less than half the size of an Eva.  It held some sort of rifle in its right hand and there was a large red shield resting over its left arm.  The majority of the thing was white, with some red on the feet and blue on the body.  He couldn't see a good deal of it because of the way it was resting.

'Is that some new kind of Eva?  No way, it's too small and…block-like.  Maybe it's that Jet Alone thing that Shinji told me about.  Wait, there's something not right about this, who would just leave a robot lying in a field?'

He came to within fifty meters of the robot and stopped.  It was lying on its back with one leg propped up a little.  It didn't seem to be too damaged but he couldn't tell too well.  Kensuke started to walk in a wide circle around it to see the entire thing.  He didn't hear any sounds coming from it so he assumed that it was off for the moment.  Coming to around the head, he realized that whatever it was, it wasn't an Eva.  There was no place for an entry plug, even though those two white poles on the backpack looked like plugs.  They were way too small anyway.  The head was strange to say the least.  It had some sort of red chin on the face, with two vents that looked like a frowning mouth.  It also had yellow eyes with red trim below them.  There was some sort of red lens on the forehead above a V-shaped antenna.  Maybe it was some kind of camera.  There were also some strange yellow protrusions just below the antenna; he had no idea what they were.

Kensuke made his way around to the right arm, staring at the rifle.  No doubt it could make short work of him.  It was then that something caught his eye; it was a white triangle on the body.  This marking was on the blue part, in the middle near the "stomach."  Being a military nut as he was, Kensuke recognized it as a rescue sign.  Whatever this thing was, it had a pilot and maybe there was a way inside the cockpit.

'Should I try it?  It would be cool to get into it and all, but what if there's a pilot?  I don't think they'll like it if they see me screwing with it.  Ahh…who cares!  I could say that I'm checking out if the pilot's all right.  Yeah, that'll work.  It wouldn't be a bad idea to see if this guy is ok anyway, he might need help.  The only question is how do I get up there.'

Kensuke quickly looked for any way to get on top of the robot.  Glancing to his left, he realized how to get there.

'Of course, the arm!  I might just be able to get on top of it and can walk to the hatch.'

Kensuke dropped his pack and ran towards the right forearm of the robot.  It was lowest there and he might be able to make it up.  He got there in a few seconds and noticed something else about the robot.  From a distance, it had looked as if the armor was smooth and new, but up close it was pitted and gouged almost everywhere.  There were even burn marks and partially melted sections of armor.  This thing had seen a lot of use but still looked to be intact.  It also looked as if it was repaired quickly, as some of the plates didn't match the other parts' paint color.

Kensuke resumed his climb, getting his hands on the top of the arm and kicking his feet against the side.  He managed to kick and pull his way up and sat down for a second to catch his breath. A minute later he got up and started to walk up the arm and around the shoulder to the main body.  The metal plating clanked with every footstep, causing Kensuke some concern.  He was worried that the pilot might hear him and attack but it was too late now.  He was at the rescue sign.  He noticed that there was an arrow pointing to a depression in the body.  There was a small lever located there.

'Okay Kensuke, last chance to pull back now.  You can just walk away and say that you never saw it.  No, something about this feels right. I'm going for it.'

With that thought, he pulled the lever.  He heard a whirring noise as a panel in the middle of the body, near the lower torso opened.  Kensuke peered over the edge and down into the opening.

It was definitely the cockpit.  There were some kind of monitors on the sides and control panels below them with tons of switches and dials.  It was a lot different than an entry plug; that was for sure.  Oh yeah, there was a pilot there too.  It was kind of hard to miss the figure in the white uniform sitting in the seat.  Judging from the person's build, that was a male.  He didn't look too much older than Kensuke.  The white flight suit had some red and black trim; it also had two badges on the chest.  There was a circular one with some kind of anchor shaped symbol and another one with the words "Ray" and "Earth Federal Forces" written on it.  The pilot also wore a white helmet with a green visor.  Kensuke couldn't see his face through it though.

'Well, that answers the question about the pilot.  It looks like he's asleep or something though.  I guess that I should see if he's hurt.'

Kensuke took a deep breath and jumped inside.  He made sure that he didn't hit anything when he landed though.  He stood on the back of the cockpit just to the side of the seat and squatted down by the pilot.  He noticed one more thing about this thing too.  It stunk like you wouldn't believe.  He could pick up the smell of sweat, oil, grease, and a faint trace of blood and vomit.  It was almost too much to bear.

He remembered that it would be a good idea to see how the pilot was and checked for any obvious wounds.  There didn't seem to be any and he could feel a pulse from the guy's neck, so he was definitely alive and not hurt too bad.

'Guess I should try to wake him up now.  I just hope that he isn't grouchy in the morning…er, afternoon.'

Kensuke started to shake the pilot by the shoulder to rouse him.  The pilot groaned and tried to ignore it though.  'Damn.  Guess I'll have to do it the hard way.'

"Hey!  Wake up!"

That seemed to wake the pilot, as he stretched out his arms and yawned.  He looked around until he caught a glimpse of Kensuke.  The next thing Kensuke knew, he had a gun pointing at his head and the pilot was yelling at him.

_"Who are you! Answer me now!"_

Kensuke could only think of one thing to say at the moment.  "Shit."

***

Amuro was somewhat startled to say the least.  The last thing he remembered was getting back to the White Base and reloading Gundam's weapons.  All of a sudden, this strange kid wearing glasses is waking him up.  Amuro does the only thing that he can think of at the moment, he pulls out his gun and tries to figure out what is going on.

_"Shit."_

Amuro notices that the kid is about to piss his pants and decides to relax a little.  He lowers his gun to show the kid that he won't hurt him.  However, Amuro keeps the gun out, just in case.

'I shouldn't spook him too much; I need information here.  Wait; was that Japanese that he was speaking?  Oh…thank god Hayato taught me it.  That could be trouble if I can't speak the language.  Then again, why would someone use one of the old languages?  They're just used by people to keep their culture intact.  Oh…I guess I should talk to him now.  It looks like he's about to faint.  I might be able to get some answers too.'

"Hey, take it easy kid.  I'm not going to hurt you.  I just want to know who you are and what you're doing here."

The kid frowned and cocked his head to the side as if he didn't understand.

'Oh…yeah.  I forgot about the helmet.  He probably can't hear me through it.'

Amuro reached up with his left hand and pushed a button on the chin of his helmet.  His visor whirred as it retracted into the top of the helmet.  He repeated what he had said earlier and the kid seemed to relax quite a bit.

Kensuke sighed as he replied to the questions.  "My name is Kensuke Aida and I just saw your robot lying here.  I just wanted to see what was going on.  What's your name, and what's the last thing you remember?"

"I'm Amuro Ray.  I…I remember getting back to my ship after a…battle in the space near A Baoa Qu and loading up more ammo and weapons.  Tell me, how did you get on the White Base?"

'Space? A bow a que?  What the hell is he talking about?'  "Look, I don't know anything about this ship or this 'White Base' but I can tell you that you aren't in space right now."

"The White Base is my ship.  Oh, I'm on a Side then.  Which one is it?"

"A side?  Whatever that is, we're not there.  We're on Earth."

"Earth?  Weird.  Can you tell me what the date is?  I really need to know how long I've been out."

"It's August 9th."

Amuro's eyes widened at that news.  "Are you sure?  That can't be right.  It was December 29th the last time I checked."

Kensuke nodded.  "Wow, so you've been out for over nine months then.  Welcome to 2015."

Amuro stared dumbly at that.  "2015?  What's the full date?  Tell me it all!"

"It's August 9, 2015 AD.  What's the big deal about it?"

Amuro muttered under his breath.  "AD?  I've gone back to the Middle Ages.  What happened to me?"

"What was that?"  
"Oh…it's just, where I came from, the year is Universal Century 0079.  This is centuries in the past."

Kensuke blinked.  "So you're from the future then.  Could you tell me about it, like did we beat the Angels and what's this robot?"

"Angels?"

Kensuke sighed and slapped his hand against his forehead.  "Hoboy…we've got a lot to talk about.  I guess we should get comfortable first.  You wanna get out and get some fresh air so we can talk?"

"Sure," Amuro replied, taking off his helmet.  "It is kinda hot in here."

"You don't need the gun, I'm harmless."

Kensuke got a good look at Amuro's face.  He was an average looking kid with blue eyes and a mop of red hair.  'Jeeze, he looks kind of like the demon.  Seems to be nicer though, except she's never pulled a gun on me.'

"Well, let's talk."

***

Some time later, Amuro and Kensuke were sitting in the shade by Gundam's right arm.  They had both traded stories about their timelines and had found out a few interesting things.  Right now, Kensuke was quizzing Amuro for some clarification.

"So you never had a Second Impact or an Angel attack?"

"No, I didn't even know something like that was possible.  We did have the One Week battle though; that was a little like what you described about what happened here."

"I guess that it means that you're from a different universe then if you've never heard of Second Impact.  It's kinda hard to forget when about half the human race dies."

"Yeah…"

"So…about you.  You fight in this war by piloting this…mobile suit you call the Gundam.  Are you any good at it?"

Amuro stared off into space for a moment before answering.  "I guess so.  It's not exactly a fun thing to do; I've lost a lot of friends because of the war."

"Still, it's gotta be cool to pilot that thing!"

"I thought so at first, but now…I don't know.  It's a big responsibility."

Kensuke looked down.  "I don't know.  I really just want to be a pilot too."

"Oh well…so what were you doing here in the first place?  I doubt that you came all the way out here to find me."

This reminded Kensuke of his earlier plans.  "Oh!  I was out here so that I could see the battle two days from today.  I was gonna watch it from that mountain over there, but I kinda got sidetracked with you."

"Battle?"

Kensuke slapped his head again.  "Of course, you don't know about the last Angel attack.  The Angel got hurt bad a few days ago but managed to live.  Apparently the Evas have to use some sort of synchronized attack to defeat it and the attack is scheduled for two days from now.  That's when the Angel wakes up."

"Oh, well I'm sorry about screwing up your plans.  I gotta say though, I really want to see these Evas you were talking about.  You mind if I join you?  I don't have anywhere to go and I could use some help getting used to this world."

"Yeah, sure.  I don't mind at all.  I would really appreciate the company.  I'll show you around town when the fight's over too.  Hell, I'll even see if I can get my dad to let you stay with us." On one condition though, you teach me to pilot Gundam.  

Amuro frowned.  "I guess I could, but no weapon training.  I don't think that I can get any ammo here and I want to keep what I have."

"That's all right.  I just want to get behind the controls and pilot it around a little."

"Good.  Thanks for the offer to take me in too.  I don't think that I'd be able to fit in well here."

"Hey, it's not a problem.  I'll just say that you're a friend from the Internet who needs some help for a while.  I might even be able to get you into my class at school.  That way, it'll be easier for you to fit in.  I can guide you around town and stuff."

"Thanks.  Hey, you got any food."

***

The next morning found the two waking up in Kensuke's tent.  The fire from last night was now just smoldering embers.  Kensuke had woken up first to get some breakfast.  He was a little shocked to see Amuro there at first but had remembered last night.  Reaching into his pack, he grabbed some breakfast bars and started to eat.  A few minutes later, Amuro got out of the tent and stretched before sitting next to Kensuke.

"Morning."

"Morning.  Here's breakfast; I know it isn't that good but it's all I have."

"It's all right.  I'm so hungry right now, I can eat anything."

Kensuke nodded.  "Good.  Lunch will be a little better though."  He then noticed that Amuro was still wearing his flight suit.  "Hey, do you have any other clothes?  You might be just a little noticeable wearing that around."

Amuro looked down and realized this.  "Yeah, you're right Kensuke.  I don't thing that I can walk around town in a normal suit.  I think that I have some stuff in the cockpit that I can use.  I like to keep some things around just in case."

"That's good, cause I don't think that you can fit in much of my stuff."

"Yeah, I guess so.  I'll be back in a minute."

With that, Amuro finished off his bar and walked to the Gundam.

Kensuke sat there waiting and looking at the Gundam while he finished his bar.  He heard a few noises from the cockpit now and then.  A few minutes later he saw Amuro walking back towards camp.  He was wearing a pair of boots, jeans, a yellow shirt, and had a bag over his shoulder.

"So, what's the plan for today?"

Kensuke brushed his hands off on his pants before responding.  "Well, after we pack up the tent and stuff, we should probably climb up to the top of the mountain.  But, now that I'm looking at it, I really don't want to climb that."

Amuro looked up and smiled.  "Yeah, that is a bit of a climb.  However, there is some good news about it.  There are plenty of trees and valleys that I can use to hide Gundam.  I think that we can get up there fairly quickly, depending on the terrain.  So, you want to get going?  It would be best if we get up there before it's too late in the day, I don't want anyone to see anything."

Kensuke got a huge smile across his face.  "Do you mean that we're gonna take a ride up there."

"Yep, just as soon as we finish packing up.  Oh…before I forget, here's something that you might want to read."

With that, Amuro reached into his bag and pulled out a large book.

"What's that?"

"You want to pilot Gundam, right?  This is the manual for it.  It'll give you something to read today."

Kensuke was practically ecstatic.  "Cool, Cool, Cool!  Let's get going!"

He quickly got up and began packing up his tent.

Amuro sighed.  "Okay."

Kensuke packed up his camp in record time.  A few minutes later, they were both standing by the Gundam's right arm, wondering what to do.  Kensuke broke the silence.

"So, how are we gonna do this.  I don't think that you have much storage in your cockpit or anywhere else."

"Well, I think that you can fit in the cockpit, behind my seat.  As for our stuff, I have an idea.  I can store the shield and beam rifle on the back and carry the bags in one of the hands."

"Cool, let's do it."

Amuro got into the cockpit and started to activate the Gundam.  Kensuke could hear whining and whirring noises from it as steam appeared from its chest vents.  He stared as it stood up and placed its rifle on the back of its waist.  It then put the shield on a mount on its backpack and kneeled on one knee.  The right arm reached toward Kensuke and Amuro yelled from the cockpit.

"Put the bags on and then climb on yourself!  I'll move so that you can get in here!"

Kensuke complied and got onto the hand.  It slowly moved toward the cockpit opening and he jumped in when it had gotten close enough.  He got behind Amuro's seat and braced himself against the back wall.

"So how long do you think that it'll take us to get to the top?"

Amuro grinned.  "Bout a minute or two.  This isn't too high a jump."

"Jump?"

"You'll see."

With that, Amuro closed the hatch and rammed the joysticks forward as he smashed the middle pedal to the floor.  Kensuke could hear a whining sound behind him before he felt himself being smashed into the floor.  He looked at the front screen to see the ground flying in front of him.  Gundam was practically skimming the treetops as it flew up the mountain.  They came up to a ledge and Amuro pulled back a little on the controls, allowing them to land.

"Wow…"

"We're not done yet.  Where do you want to set up camp?  I need to know where I can hide this thing."

"Oh, just the next plateau.  I think that there's a valley with some tall trees right behind it."

"I see it.  Hold on!"

Amuro made his next jump and landed on the area that Kensuke had pointed out.  He then maneuvered Gundam onto one knee again and brought the right arm towards the cockpit again.  He opened the hatch.

"Kensuke, get off now.  I need to hide this now."

"Sure."

Kensuke quickly got into the hand and Amuro moved it toward the ground.  Kensuke pulled the bags off and waved to Amuro.  Gundam then stood and moved to hide in the valley.  Kensuke could hear it stop and saw that the head was sticking out from the valley.  A couple of minutes later, Amuro appeared from the trees.  He looked back for a moment before continuing on to Kensuke.

"It's not the best hiding job I've ever done, but it'll have to do."

"You've done this before?"

Amuro paused before responding.  "Yeah…a couple of times.  I really don't like to think about it though.  I made a really stupid decision."

Kensuke frowned.  "Ok, I guess that I won't ask about that now.  I do want you to tell me about it later though."

"Thanks Kensuke.  Let's just say that I've seen a lot of good people die; it isn't fun to think about."

Kensuke paused.  "All right, I guess that I can understand that.  Oh…call me Ken, all of my friends do."

"So I'm a friend?"

"Yeah, of course you are.  I mean we've got some common interests.  Mecha and computers."

Amuro chuckled.  "Yeah, I suppose so.  What do we do now Ken?"

"Let's set up camp.  After that, I'm gonna read that manual you gave me and I have a portable TV you can watch.  It wouldn't hurt to catch up on recent events."

"All right."

With those words the two teens began to set up their tent and prepare for the next day.  Both were eager to see the battle, but for different reasons.  Kensuke thought that it would be an important event to watch.  Amuro wanted to see what the Angels and Evas were.  He also wondered if there was a chance he could help out or at least find a way back to his world.  As they began to assemble the tent, Amuro thought of what was going on back there.

'I just hope that White Base will be okay without me.'

***

To be continued

***

Author's Note:

Well, that's it for the first chapter.  As you can see, I've decided to bring Amuro in during the fight with the seventh Angel.  I chose this time for several reasons.  First, the existing cast is all in place; I want them to at least know each other before I screw with the story.  This timeframe also makes it easy to get Amuro in without arousing too much suspicion.  Any energy spikes found could be written off as being the Angel healing itself.  It's also early enough in the story that I can work with it enough.

As for Kensuke, I think that my use of him was acceptable.  At this point, he is still extremely interested in the Evas and could be seen as doing what I have had him do here.  He still wants to be part of the action and it makes sense that he might try to watch the fight.  I think that his reaction to finding the Gundam is still in character.  His curiosity takes over and he has to investigate what he has seen.  I chose him to encounter Amuro first due to his nature.  He would be most likely to help and not tell anyone about what he has seen (with a little blackmail of course).

As I read in one of my reviews, there are a lot of Eva/Gundam stories.  I have read a great deal of them.  For starters, they mostly involve Gundam Wing.  While that's a good series in it's own right, I really don't think that it matches well with Eva.  The original series has a great deal of themes that are similar with Eva, like I said in the Prologue, and I've never seen anything done with it like this.  I guess that I want to do something a little different.  That is also the reason that I've had the casts meet like this.  In most of the stories, the gundam(s) appear out of nowhere and the Evas are launched to intercept.  It then either goes into a fight between the two groups or the gundam(s) manage to communicate that they aren't a threat.  I want to introduce Amuro and company through the back door; something that I haven't seen much.

Now, about the gun scene; it is understandable for Amuro to pull it out like that.  He is (or was) in the middle of a war, and reacts like he is still there.  As for the reason that he puts it down so fast, he could see that Kensuke wasn't much of a threat.  He could either see Kensuke's body posture and behavior or could feel that Kensuke wasn't trying to hurt him.  Remember that Amuro is a Newtype; odds are that he could feel Kensuke's emotions or see that he wasn't in any danger.  Amuro also probably wanted to find out what was going on too.

You may have noticed that I didn't go over what the two told each other.  That was intentional; I think that if I did so, this chapter would be about another two or three thousand words long.  Besides, you most likely know about the back-story anyway.  Kensuke obviously doesn't know all about what is happening so the information that he gives Amuro is spotty at best.  Amuro has most likely glossed over certain parts of his life too.  You may be able to notice that he is skittish around what he last did, and on his experiences with the war.  You see, Amuro has a tendency to bury his emotions some.  After Lalah's death, he became emotionally dead for the remainder of the war and was unable to do anything for seven years afterwards.  He's not a perfect soldier or anything; he just doesn't want to remember painful things.

I had originally planned to cover up through the battle in this chapter.  However, the length was getting a little long for my tastes.  This chapter itself is about 4,500 words and any longer might turn off readers.  And to think that I was worried about things being too short…  Due to my writing style (I didn't even know I had one) these chapters will take a while to get out.  After reading Steve VADER's review, I realized how many of these kinds of fics are unfinished.  Granted, some of them aren't that good, but some of them deserve to be finished.  That convinced me that I need to finish this, I owe it to everyone who reads this.  I also want to be able to say that I finished something that I started.  It might be a month at most between the updates, but I will finish this.  The next chapter might be a while though; I've been neglecting my classes some and really need to focus on them right now.  I also plan to repost the Prologue with this chapter; fixing some of the obvious grammar and spelling mistakes that I missed earlier.

Anyway, thanks go to Kim, Steve VADER, and Jacob for taking the time to review.  To the rest of you reading this, please take the time to review.  I don't care if it's a flame; I need some feedback on this.  Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated though; my fragile ego could use a little help.  Oh well, I hope that you've enjoyed or at least liked reading what I've wrote.

***

Next Chapter:  The battle against the seventh Angel, and maybe a welcome to Tokyo 3


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